It’s hard to believe BSG has been gone for as long as it has already–the final episode of Season 4 aired on March 20. Perhaps it’s because the images and scenes from the series finale are still so vivid in my mind, makes me feel as though I watched it just last week. Of course, not everyone was happy with the way the series ended; as with everything else throughout the show, nothing was pat, nothing was neatly tied up, nothing was uncomplicated, and that, I know, frustrated viewers who for once wanted a straight answer out of the show runners. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan , which was supposed to answer many other questions, really didn’t make much of an impression on fans or TV viewers. Perhaps the idea of seeing previous events in the series through the eyes of the Cylons wasn’t enough of a hook for fans to get excited about the made-for-television film. Whatever your feelings about how the series ended might be, we as fans are all pretty much unanimous in how we feel about how the series began, so if you feel like revisiting the beginning, why not pick up the blu-ray version, available now for pre-order? You won’t have long to wait for it–copies hit store shelves on Tuesday, January 5th. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is available now.

Or, if you don’t feel like indulging your BSG nostalgia on video, how about with some of the awesome action figures and toys released through Diamond Select and available from Entertainment Earth?

Battlestar Galactica Apollo and Dualla Action Figure 2-Pack
Battlestar Galactica Cylon Six Bust
Battlestar Galactica Boomer and Athena Action Figure 2-Pack
Battlestar Galactica Cylon Centurion Action Figure

Some of these items are part of Entertainment Earth’s Year-End Sale and some are pre-order items, so click on the images or links above and check things out depending on what you’re looking for. Cool stuff all around, trust me!

(Feel free to groan at that one–I did.)

We also sincerely hope that you’ve gotten all your holiday shopping done, ’cause trying to get some done today will be a battle you do NOT want to fight. Here in Orlando, for example, the traffic literally just outside my door heading to the Mall at Millenia and its satellite stores is already moving into nightmare territory, and I don’t even want to think about what parking must be like right now. However, if there are a few people left on your list of the “geek” persuasion and they don’t mind just getting a printed confirmation number for something you ordered online today along with a VERY sincere Christmas card, we have a few gift ideas for you. First and foremost, from Amazon.com, check out all the home media options for one of our Top 5 Geek Movies of 2009, District 9.

We’ll be revisiting District 9 for a tiny bit during this Saturday’s show, as it has much in common thematically with last week’s blockbuster theatrical release, Avatar, so be sure to set aside some time Saturday night for that. For now, we stick by our recommendation of District 9 as one of the year’s best in terms of honest, unflinching storytelling that epitomizes what the best science fiction has always done: examine an issue within humanity that is difficult to tackle without removing it from its current historical and social context. Plus, it’s startling in its sudden, gut-wrenching action and violence–if you’re not slackjawed at what you witness through the course of the film, then you’re far too desensitized for your own good.

Back to last-minute gift ideas, Entertainment Earth has begun their annual Year-End Sale, and they’ve got quite a bit you might want to check out for a gift to someone else or for yourself!

• Batman: The Dark Knight Batarangs Replica
• Star Trek Death Of Spock Kirk and Spock 2-Pack Figures
• Bettie Page Red Lingerie 6-Inch Statue – EE Exclusive
• Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi (Episode III) Statue

Trust me, there’s something for EVERYBODY at this sale, so do click on the links or images above and check things out–every purchase you make through those links supports PTG, as you well know by now, so don’t get miserly now!

If you’ve already got the home video covered for the would-be Griffyndor or Slytherin on your Christmas list, then perhaps you might want to check out some of the REALLY cool stuff they have over at Entertainment Earth for Harry Potter fans. Click on the images below for more details–my favorites have to be the wall scrolls with the House heraldry on them-too bad they won’t be available until January, but you can still pre-order one!

• Harry Potter Half-Blood Prince Action Figures Series 1
• Harry Potter Gryffindor Crest Wall Scroll
• Harry Potter Slytherin Necktie
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Lunch Box

Cyber Monday may be gone for 2009, but it’s still a great time for shopping at Entertainment Earth. Their Gift Rush Sale is on now, with almost 500 items marked down for holiday shopping, so be sure and check them out. Remember, using the links in this post or on this site to make your purchases supports PTG, so use ‘em!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! (in case you still haven’t seen the film and were planning to do so on home video, just skip down to the next boldface type)

While opinion was certainly mixed on whether or not Terminator Salvation succeeded in revitalizing the Terminator franchise, there were a few things about the film that most people could agree on: 1) Despite the film being marketed with Christian Bale at the forefront, the actor who really made an impression on audiences was Sam Worthington, who we’ll see again very soon in Avatar; 2) the use of Guns ‘n Roses “You Could Be Mine” during the film was a creative and fun little nod to Terminator 2: Judgment Day and probably one of the better crowd-pleaser moments in the film, however brief it was; and 3) digitally inserting Arnold Schwarzenegger for the T-800 cameo was cheesy as all hell and probably one of the worst moments in the film. We here at PTG gave it a “C” when we reviewed it back in May in Episode 22; indeed, we weren’t even sure if it was better than the Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, but opinion on that question varied widely as well.

SPOILERS END HERE.

If the Terminator fan on your Christmas list just couldn’t wait for the holidays and they’ve already purchased their copy of Terminator Salvation on home video, fear not! Check out all this cool Terminator stuff from our friends at Entertainment Earth:

• Terminator Salvation Bobble Head
• Terminator 2 Judgment Day Pescadero T-800 12-Inch Figure
• Terminator Salvation T-600 Voice ‘N Vision Skull Helmet
• Terminator Salvation Movie Lighter

In case you didn’t know, Entertainment Earth’s ‘Cyber Monday Sale‘ runs through this entire week and covers a HUGE selection of products, so be sure to check out all the other stuff they have if nothing ‘Terminator’ jumps out at you as far as a great gift idea–their Free Shipping offer for purchases over $59 has been extended to Christmas Eve, as well! Please use the links in this post to access Entertainment Earth’s site and make your purchases–doing so helps to support PTG! Happy Shopping!

Ain’t It Cool News, or AICN.com, is reporting that Warner Premiere’s next entry in their DC Universe Animated line of direct-to-video features after Green Lantern: First Flight, which hits stores this summer will be Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, a direct adaptation of the story originally featured in Superman/Batman #1-6, written by Jeph Loeb (Superman for All Seasons, Batman: Hush) and illustrated by Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines (JLA Classified, Hulk: Red Hulk). As with all of the other features in this line, Bruce Timm, the longtime shepherd of all things animated relating to DC and its characters, will produce the project.

This would seem to be a return to the original intent of the product line, which was to adapt popular storylines from the comics into animated form, thereby taking an established property with a built-in fan base and bringing it to that fan base in another form, as well as opening up the property to new, non-comic book reader fans who are fans of the characters. The early releases in the line, Superman: Doomsday and Justice League: The New Frontier, had varying degrees of success in adapting their source material, with most fans, including me, agreeing that the Justice League title was the superior of the two. However, the next three releases in the line, Batman Gotham Knight, Wonder Woman, reviewed HERE just this past week, and the aforementioned Green Lantern: First Flight, deviated from that original intent for the line substantially. Batman: Gotham Knight was a direct tie-in to last summer’s mega-box office hit, The Dark Knight, and Wonder Woman and Green Lantern: First Flight represent original, origin stories for the characters that were loosely adapted from the current comic book lines.

I daresay that choosing to adapt the initial Loeb-McGuinness story from Superman/Batman is a stroke of genius and, assuming its done right, a step towards getting this franchise back on track. Public Enemies is a big enough story to provide for an exciting animated feature, with lots of action and lots of characters, but it’s a small enough story that adaptation from the source material that made the story so popular can be accomplished without sacrificing too much, as was the case in Superman: Doomsday, where the storyline was so huge that wholesale changes were necessary in order to bring the story to a manageable length, and those changes were satisfying to no one in terms of audience. Public Enemies sold like crazy when it was released in 2003–Loeb and McGuinness are both fan favorites, and McGuinness’ artistic take on so many of DC’s major characters in both Public Enemies and Loeb’s final story arc in the Superman/Batman title, With a Vengeance (issues #20-25) inspired five waves of action figures from DC Direct. The primary challenge for Timm and his production will be how to bring to cinematic life the dual narrative points-of-view that made those early issues of Superman/Batman so distinctive and interesting to read. Loeb’s stories in Superman/Batman featured internal monologue from BOTH Clark and Bruce simultaneously, and the contrast in their perspectives on the action taking place is an important element in what makes those stories so enjoyable. It will be interesting to see also how much the animators choose to draw on McGuinness’ unique style, which is deliberately more “cartoony” and would seem to lend itself well to animation, as did Darwyn Cooke’s trademark style in Justice League: The New Frontier.

I still have great apprehension about Green Lantern: First Flight after watching Wonder Woman, but I must say that this news brightens my outlook on the future of the DC Universe Animated line. Makes me wonder if they’ll adapt Loeb’s second story from Superman/Batman, the one that has had the largest impact on DC’s mainstream continuity, “The Supergirl from Krypton,” which brought back the “true” Supergirl, Kal-El’s cousin Kara Zor-El.

In Hour 1 of PTG Episode 5, we hit on the WORST spoiler EVER (or at least the worst in my recent memory) for an upcoming DC Comics storyline, Grant Morrison’s “Superman Beyond” and how it helped me come to the realization that I am, in fact, incredibly stupid, and filmmaker and comics writer Terry Cronin of Students of the Unusual and the Mega-Con Indie Film Expo stops by to talk about how the Film Expo has grown in its five years as a part of Mega-Con and what attendees can expect at this year’s Expo (hint: Zombie Confederate Massacre!).

Oh, and during the broadcast, once he heard that the Red Lanterns currently appearing in Green Lantern comics do not use their rings to attack their enemies, but instead spew rage in the form of corrosive red energy from their mouths, Geoff of SomaCow suggested that his good friend and co-host Mickey might be a fine recruit for the Red Lantern Corps. Let the record show that I disagreed–I need to stay on Mickey’s good side or this site won’t work. Find all this and more here in this week’s Prime Time Geek!

Arguably, “The Blackest Night” storyline, beginning this summer in Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, and presumably a number of tie-in issues, is THE most eagerly anticipated story of 2009 for DC Comics fans. Written by fan (and PTG) favorite Geoff Johns, “Blackest Night” is the culmination of the story that truly began with “Green Lantern: Rebirth” in 2004, with the return of Hal Jordan. The story was teased at the end of the runaway hit series “Sinestro Corps War”; both Green Lantern titles have featured stories all building up to the prophesied “War of Light” among many ring-bearing intergalactic corps, including the Green Lanterns and their enemies, the Sinestro Corps., leading to the apocalyptic “Blackest Night”, when the Black Lanterns, composed of legions of corpses from many worlds, re-animated by the energy of the Anti-Monitor, would rise and threaten everyone across the galaxy.

The question of WHO exactly would be re-animated and turned into an evil “Black Lantern” has been the subject of much speculation, and it would have continued to build, no doubt, right up until the story began this summer. BUT the folks at DC Direct who write their solicitations, well, they must have figured, “Why not let the cat out of the bag NOW and drum up some orders??”

And so today, all over the web by now, I’m sure, the image above, and its description, has ruined what could have been a gut-wrenching reveal in the course of “The Blackest Night,” the identity of the first of Black Lanterns to be revealed, and who no doubt would lead the others in their attack on the energies of life itself. Of course, it makes perfect sense, the identity of this fallen hero, considering who is writing the story, and maybe many had already expected it. But GEEZ, couldn’t they just have kept the identity of this ONE figure from the wave a secret? Call it the “mystery” Black Lantern figure in the assortment? They went ahead and blacked out the images detail, turned it into a silhouette, why not keep the identity a secret, too? But no, no, no, no, those spoil-sports in DC Marketing must have thought they could sell more cases of the figures this way.

Unbelievable.

(And yes, I DIDN’T give the name away, because I won’t contribute to the spoilerific nonsense.)